


The Terrible Trio

by EmiliaVBlake



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Aurors, Death Eaters, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Multi, Necromancy, Past Rape/Non-con, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 12:28:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29874684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmiliaVBlake/pseuds/EmiliaVBlake
Summary: Death Eaters have escaped Azkaban and Auror Granger is forced to take care of the prisoners with Auror Potter and Weasley.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Theodore Nott/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	The Terrible Trio

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry the summary is trash lol. It's currently 1 in the morning. IDK what this is gonna be. But, I've been having this idea since I finished Kingdom Falls and I'm excited for it.

The man they pulled free from the darkness was not the man they’d put inside heaven knows how long ago. He didn’t know how many years had passed, didn’t know how long his hair had gotten, had no semblance of when he’d last eaten or had any water. All he knew was cold and nightmares.

The suppression cuffs cut into him, but he barely registered the pain, feeling the numb of his magical core thrumming through the daze. They’d dragged him from his cell, high above, his ears popping the lower he walked until he stepped through a portal. They dragged him into a room and he barely registered anything as it erupted with shouts and arguments from voices he didn’t care to notice.

A hiss erupted through the room and his head shot up, the dull gaze in his eyes disappearing as he focused on the woman beside him, a prisoner, but one he recognized. Gold eyes were wide with fear, teeth bared in rage. Fear slammed around him, panic taking over him as his eyes followed her gaze to a silver mask with golden roses ending with daggers around the face.

Do you recognize this?” a voice shouted.

He flinched back at seeing the mask, tugging at his chains. The woman beside him cackled, forcing him to freeze and shudder because of how reminiscent of  _ that _ woman it was.

“Do you know who this belongs to?” the Minister shouted.

“It’s  _ hers,”  _ the Witch hissed, her voice gravelly from disuse, “And if she lives that means so does the new Dark Lord.”

The long haired man, hidden by his curls at the other end let out a dark chuckle.

“So, tell us, are the rumors true?” his voice hissed, barely even a whisper as his cerulean gaze peered through the curtain of curls.

The three of them had heard the whispers. But, just rumors, no real evidence.

“I have an offer for the three of you. And I will only offer it once,” Kingsley called, the room vibrating with the sheer power, “You bring the Death Eaters to justice and you will be freed and pardoned.”

The three finally looked at one another and the light had flickered back into their eyes. It was time to do what snakes did: survive.

* * *

Hermione was drinking a strong cup of tea as she waited for Harry and Ron to come downstairs. If they were late for work again she’d have their heads.

Living at Grimmauld Place during their auror training and the 5 years after hadn’t been planned, but here they were. They had lived together through Ron and Hermione’s failed attempt at a relationship. Lived here during Harry’s subsequent break up with Ginny and coming out of the closet as Bi-sexual. And Ron’s failed attempts with Lavender Brown and Katie Bell along with Hermione’s failed career in the Ministry’s archives and failed relationship with Cormac McLaggen and Viktor Krum. But, this was home for the three heroes. And they wouldn’t trade it for much.

Harry stepped in, bleary eyed, pouring coffee and grunting a greeting to Hermione as Ozwald, Harry’s new barn owl, slammed into the window.

“That owl is going to get himself killed,” he grumbled as Hermione giggled, opening up the window to grab the post from him.

She laughed to herself, opening up the prophet as she took another sip.

_ SMASH! _

Harry’s head shot up as Ron barreled down the stairs, half dressed, both gaping at Hermione. She was gawking at the front page instead of trying to clean up her shattered mug and the tea that splatted the floor and cabinet.

Kreacher grumbled as he popped into the room, cleaning up the mess as Ron and Harry took a step toward Hermione.

“What’s wrong, Mione?” Ron pushed.

She swallowed hard, trying to make sense at the image before her. She turned the newspaper so they could see. They both took sharp intakes at the moving visage before them.

Three wizards were walking through the Ministry’s atrium, each dressed in rich clothes and completely free of the chains they were usually seen in.

Draco Malfoy, looking eerily like a cross between Sirius and Lucius stood in front of them all. His long, wavy hair flowing around him. He stood in a suit and was sporting a cane, but one he seemed to need rather than just for aesthetics like his father. But, Hermione could tell, even in the rich, tailored suit he wore that he was overtly gaunt, his features pointy from weight loss and deep circles under his eyes. Behind him was an equally richly dressed Verena Lestrange, her black curls hiding her face, and Theo Nott, his hair, shoulder length with thick beach waves, looking the least worn of the three, was dressed in finely accented Black Robes. Each of them were clearly hiding their brittle frames from six years in prison. But, each managed to make themselves look flawlessly beautiful. The image of them moved and as the cameras flashed Verena snarled at the camera, teeth bared, jostling the image as though the photographer had stumbled back.

Harry’s eyes went to the headline.

“Former Death Eaters Released,” he read aloud, “Draco Lucius Malfoy, Verena Rosabelle Lestrange, and Theodore Andrew Nott Jr. have all been released on good behaviour and charges lessened to spend the last five years of their sentencing on parole. More on this as it develops.”

“Kingsley said there was no way to release them!” Hermione said, frowning, “We’ve been trying for years! Not to mention, when did they plan this? All Death Eater parole trials are public. This had to be done in secret!”

“Well, the Magic Witch Watchers were on some kind of new massively secret project,” Harry offered, “Maybe they have something to do with it?”

“Something’s off about this, mate,” Ron muttered.

But, their speculations were cut short as Pig flew in with a brilliant royal blue missive. Ron took it and sighed.

“We’re being called in by Head Auror Wilkes. Let’s head out,” he said, heading for the floo.

* * *

Hermione stood by the door, waiting patiently, hiding the anxiety she was feeling. She’d chosen to become an auror mostly because she’d missed the excitement of a good adventure. But, she had to admit, being called into the Head Auror’s office was something she always avoided.

Ron and Harry though, they looked completely at ease. They’d been called into the office for many reasons so neither bothered to get as worked up as they did the first time. The door opened and a grave looking Hugo Wilkes looked at them.

“Right,” he muttered, “I’m not going to mince words. I assume you’ve seen the  _ Daily Prophet _ .”

“Yes,” Hermione called, “What’s going on? Death Eaters aren’t supposed to be released early. Even those who were coerced or didn’t do anything violent.”

“Well, Auror Granger, what I’m about to say doesn’t leave this room,” he said, gravely, silencing and locking the room as he squared his shoulders, “We’ve had a breach. At Azkaban. Wizards wearing new aged Death Eater Masks easily made it through the Wraiths and the guards. They released most of the high level Death Eaters. And a lot of the mid and lower level.”

“Why weren’t Malfoy, Nott, and Lestrange part of that?” Harry asked, his brow furrowed as he thought about the implications of a mass Death Eater escape.

“They’re considered Blood Traitors,” Hermione inserted before Wilkes could reply, “What I don’t understand is why the public isn’t aware of this massive breach. If there are Death Eaters on the loose they should be made aware.”

“That’s above my jurisdiction,” Wilkes replied, “Minister and Department Head Pendergast don’t see it as a threat big enough since none of them have wands. They don’t want to cause a massive frenzy if there’s no need.”

“So what’s being done?” Hermione demanded, crossing her arms.

“Well, you three are actually part of that plan. There is a mass search for the missing Death Eaters. Aurors put out to protect Wand Makers so we’d know if wands were being stolen. And the Terrible Trio is where you three come in.”

He handed them each duplicated files.

“The Minister has employed Prisoners 10666, 10667 and 10668 to help us think like Death Eaters and acquire them. Plus the three have natural affinities the Minister thinks will be beneficial,” Wilkes explained.

Ron’s jaw worked. “You expect us to work  _ with  _ Death Eater?”

“Actually, they’ll mostly be working here and you three will be paroling with them in your home,” he explained.

“They are  _ not  _ living with  _ me _ !” Harry exclaimed.

“Auror Potter, the alternative is moving you all to one of their manors. Trust me, we don’t like this, but they need to be monitored at all cost,” Wilkes explained, “And Lady Lestrange has already donated her closest property to be converted into a shelter for children still being affected by the war. And Mr. Malfoy refuses to set foot back into the Malfoy Manor. Your home is the most secure option.  _ Nothing  _ is warded like those manors. No one actually  _ knows  _ where the Black Manor resides unless they’ve been there.”

“Wait, where have they been staying then?” Hermione asked.

“The rest of their smaller homes aren’t nearly as protected or exclusive as their family homes so they’ve been staying in Nott Palace,” he explained.

_ Palace?  _ Ron mouthed at Harry who shrugged.

“Then we’ll stay there,” Hermione replied.

She didn’t want the three Death Eaters in her home. She knew that they’d been children forced into their roles but even she still held a grudge for all the bullying on Malfoy’s part.

“I know-” they were cut off by a knock on the door. Wilkes sighed.

“Come in!” he shouted.

The door opened to reveal Pansy Parkinson, her judicial robes secure and Kingsley. They stepped into the room together, followed by an older gentleman none of them recognized.

“Minister, Justice Parkinson, Justice Knightly,” Wilkes called as he and the aurors stood.

Kingsley nodded, “Good, you’ve briefed them. We should move this into an investigation room. It’ll be bigger and we have things to discuss.”

He led the way as the others moved, following them into the hall. They opened the door to a room where the prisoners were waiting. But, Hermione couldn’t tell that they were prisoners. Instead, she felt like she was staring at a live photo of models. Verena was staring out of the window, not bothering to look back at them, and that unnerved Hermione all the more. Draco’s eyes flicked over to them, but he didn’t move, his eyes shifting in shades of grey. Hermione had never been close enough to watch the way his eyes shifted, but she found a sort of beauty in it before a voice cleared its throat.

“Knightly,” Theo called, turning to look at them.

“Lord Nott,” the lawyer called, bowing his head respectively before taking his place with the three Purebloods.

Hermione pursed her lips, annoyed by the archaic title used by the Sacred Twenty-Eight who did actually hold royalty titles from when their bloodlines started. But, she focused on the deputy auror who’d stepped through the door.

“Winger,” Kingsley greeted, shaking his hand.

“Minister, Potter, Weasley, Granger, Wilkes,” he greeted, clearly tense.

“Want to debrief us?” Kingsley called.

“Everything’s been quiet until last night. The house was attacked, but it seemed to bounce back,” he replied.

“Which is why we brought Knightly,” Theo interrupted.

Kingsley gritted his teeth, but motioned to Winger to continue.

“As you all now know there’s a task force out there to find the Death Eaters. But, our best bet of drawing them out is these three. You three have been hand picked to watch them because you’re our best and brightest. You are free to live your lives, but one of you needs to be with the prisoners at all times.. If you accept you will be in charge of getting them here to look over the files.”

“Deputy Auror, if this case is so important shouldn’t we be out there looking for the Death Eaters?” Ron asked, frowning.

“What good will that do?” Verena asked, a brow raised, finally turning to look at them, keeping her arms crossed.

Hermione stared in shock. She’d never seen anyone with eyes that were practically gold except Rodolphus Lestrange and seeing them in a face that was so reminiscent of Bellatrix Lestrange was almost too much to bear. But, where Bellatrix was harsh and psychotic, there was a softness to Verena’s features that reminded her of Andromeda. She barely remembered Verena from their time at Hogwarts. She, like Theo and Blaise, had hung out with Draco and his friends, but hadn’t involved themselves in the petty bullying. She remembered seeing the woman on the outskirts. Back then she’d been Verena Black and up until Hermione had met Sirius she had no idea that she was part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

Ron’s eyes narrowed, “Babysitting a bunch of Death Eaters isn’t my idea of doing anything.”

“Neither is aimlessly searching for people who know how to hide and cover their tracks,” she countered, a smirk playing at her lips, “Tell me, Auror Weasley, would you send men out blindly to look for nothing when your best asset is in this room  _ forced  _ to help.”

Draco scoffed, shooting Verena a wry smile and Hermione bit her lip.

“Are you  _ really  _ giving Weasley the benefit of  _ thinking, _ Ren?” he teased.

Hermione was surprised by the playfulness between the two, but then she’d never seen anything from Malfoy except bullying and prattiness. Ron’s eyes narrowed, but in his six years, he’d become less insecure and while she could tell Malfoy’s comment bothered him, he kept his mouth shut.

“It doesn’t matter. This is where we think the three of you will be an asset, Auror Weasley. If you don’t think so, then don’t take the position and go back to your desk,” Winger called, drawing their attention and Hermione watched with fascination as Verena and Draco’s expressions disappeared, leaving unreadable masks in place.

Ron shut his mouth and Parkinson came forward with the files on the prisoners, handing them out again to the Golden Trio.

“With your new assignment you are also fitted with the prisoners’ schedules, their backgrounds, and access to their properties,” she announced, “You are responsible for their safety and they must be brought into the Ministry every day at 8am and leave at 4pm at the earliest. Failure to do so instantly breaks their parole and they will be placed back into Azkaban, weekends are theirs and your free days. But, that does bring us to the living situation since Nott Palace was attacked last night…”

“That’s why Knightly’s here,” Theo said, “We’ve been waiting to go over Uncle Severus…”

“Uncle Severus?” Harry asked, surprised.

“Yes, do keep up, Potter,” Theo replied, with a wink.

“Severus Snape was our godfather,” Draco chimed in, turning his face to look out of the window.

Harry gaped at them and Hermione knew he was begging to ask questions about him. He and Severus had always been enemies in life, but in death, Harry wanted to know as much about the man as he could possibly find out. And here were three people who had seen him as a father figure. She shook her head slightly and he bit his lip, keeping shut.

“As I was saying,” Theo continued, “Knightly was meant to read Uncle Severus’s will last night, but the Palace was attacked. And in those papers is what happens to the Prince Estate.”

“The Prince Estate?” Hermione asked, eyes wide. She knew that the Prince Family had once been part of the Pureblood ranks and had a large estate. But, the entire family line died with Severus Snape.

Knightly nodded, clearing his throat, “Yes. Severus Snape, as the last Prince, inherited the entire estate, including the house. He left his vaults, belongings, and the house in Spinner’s End and the Prince Estate to be split between the three of his godchildren.”

“No Death Eaters know where that house is,” Theo explained, “We’ll move into there until we can figure out what to do.”

“So, we’re just meant to live together and  _ not  _ try to kill one another?” Hermione demanded, hands on her hips.

Draco took that moment to rise to his feet and come forward. Hermione had to tip her head back to meet his gaze.

“Come now, Granger,” he scoffed, “You don’t think we can outgrow childish nonsense for the greater good?”

Hermione swallowed hard, shocked by the gooseflesh that appeared on her arms as she tipped her head up, surprised by his sheer height. She took in his chiseled features, surprised by how he’d grown into his features, no longer the pointy boy from her youth, but a lithe elfin-like man, whose silver eyes were full of mirth.

“If we don’t kill each other first.”


End file.
